London Overground guards to strike over job cut fears

CONDUCTORS on London Overground who are at risk of redundancy are to go on strike over the Bank Holiday weekend.

Rail union RMT said members will walk out over £5million cost-cutting plans by Transport for London (TfL) to scrap the 130 train guards and keep only a driver on board the London Overground services run by London Overground Rail Operations Limited (LOROL) whose Euston to Watford Junction, and Clapham Junction and Richmond to Stratford, routes serve Harrow and Brent.

Participants in the industrial action have been instructed not to turn up for shifts or work overtime between 12.01am on Sunday August

25 and 11.59pm on Monday August 26 - the same days at Notting Hill Carnival.

RMT general secretary Bob Crow said: “RMT have sent out a clear message in the 9-to-1 vote for both strike action and action short of a strike on London Overground over the appalling, cash-driven assault on our guards members and the absolutely essential role that they play.

“These are the very same staff who have been praised for safely evacuating passengers from emergency situations and who are the eyes and ears of the service at a time of growing violence and thefts on our trains.

“The failure of the TfL senior management, under Boris Johnson's leadership, and the company to pull back from these proposals has forced RMT to announce this strike action.

"The fight to defend 130 safety-critical guards jobs on London Overground will be centre stage in RMT's overall battle to defend jobs and safety on London's transport services.

“The news that millions of passengers are to be put at risk through plans to throw the guards off London Overground trains on north London routes has already sent shockwaves through transport services and is clearly a foretaste of what is to come.”

A TfL spokesman said 60 per cent of London Overground's routes - comprising largely the East London Line and the Clapham Junction to Surrey Quays stretch - already operate without conductors and that when in 2007 TfL issued the contract to LOROL to operate London Overground there was stipulation that guards would be phased out with improvements in safety technology such as door surveillance cameras and secure radio links between the cab and station staff.

Director of TfL London Overground, Mike Stubbs, said: “Strike action is a wholly unnecessary step that will cause disruption to passengers who rely on this service.

“LOROL is committed to working to find a solution for those of its employees affected by this proposed change.

“I urge that common sense and discussions prevail – not a needless impact on train services.”

Peter Austin, managing director for LOROL, said: “LOROL continues to give the RMT assurances on employing conductors in alternative customer service roles and offering a generous voluntary redundancy package to those who want it.”

LOROL anticipates running a regular service on the strike days on the majority of the London Overground network.